Many large government and business establishments (e.g. public safety, industrial, retail, etc.) utilize wireless communication devices operating in a trunked or wireless local area network (WLAN) in order to improve operational efficiency. For example, some communication devices are operable in a Wi-Fi™ (IEEE 802.11) communication network. Typically, these communication devices have rechargeable batteries. In those establishments that operate around the clock, where communication devices may be in relative constant use, there is insufficient time to wait to recharge the batteries of these communication devices. Therefore, these establishments may supply changing stations along with spare batteries that can be charged while the communication device is being used. When a device needs a freshly charged battery, a user can simply go to a charging station and exchange their exhausted battery with a freshly charged one. In some cases, where there are more batteries than charging stations, charged batteries can be put aside to be picked up for use while exhausted batteries are placed in the charger.
However, a problem arises as batteries get older and they have been recharged numerous times. In particular, older batteries can take different amounts of time to recharge, batteries may not all charge to the same voltage or level, or batteries may not hold their charge for the same amount of time. Typically, a standalone battery pack does not provide information regarding its state of charge, health, etc. Therefore, a user going to obtain a freshly charged battery will not know which one of the batteries in a group is the healthiest choice to replace an exhausted battery. Even in those cases where the battery includes a built-in display to show a user its health information, the user still needs to spend time going over each battery display to check which one is the healthiest. This is particularly undesirable in situations such as during a fire or police emergency.
Accordingly, there is a need for a technique to alleviate the above issues in rechargeable batteries.
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The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.